AJAY Vs. BANGALORE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has impugned the Final Notification dtd. 18/6/2014 in No. UDD 426 MNJ 2011 (Annexure-H) and all further proceedings pursuant thereto insofar as a total extent of 4 acres 39 Guntas in Sy No. 21/2, 21/3, 20/1 and 20/2 of Kempapura Village Yelahanka Hobli, Bangalore North Taluk [the subject properties] and the Final Report dtd. 17/9/2018 bearing No. LAC/903-906/2018-19 [Annexure-A] with a prayer for declaration that the scheme vide the Final Notification 18/6/2014 insofar as the acquisition of the subject property is rendered illogical and impractical. This would be the third round of litigation, and the circumstances leading to this petition must be set forth at the outset.

(2.) The Bangalore Development Authority [BDA] proposed acquisitions of a vast tract of lands for the formation of residential layout called 'Arkavathi Layout'. The respective notifications [the preliminary and final notifications] under Sec. 17 (1) and (3) and Sec. 19 (1) were issued in the year 2003-2004. The preliminary notification [Preliminary Notification] was issued on 3/2/2003 and the Final Notification [Final Notification] on 23/2/2004. The petitioner questioned these notifications in W.P. No. 20235/2004. The petitioner was granted the benefit of an interim order of Status quo1. In allowing this petition and other petitions, this Court quashed these notifications2, but a Division Bench of this Court3 upheld the notifications but confirming the finding of widespread discrimination in acquiring the lands and granted liberty to the landowners to file applications before the BDA for withdrawal of their lands from the acquisition proceedings on the ground of discrimination. The BDA was directed to consider such applications according to certain criteria. The directions are referred to as, 'the Division Bench directions'.

(3.) The petitioner, and the other landowners, who had succeeded before this Court in impugning the aforesaid notification but failed before the Division Bench insofar as the notifications, approached the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Hon'ble Apex Court by its judgment dtd. 5/5/2010 in its decision in Bondu Ramaswamy and others v Bangalore Development Authority and others (2010) 7 SCC 129 has affirmed the Division Bench's directions subject to certain clarifications and further directions.